Croatian President Ivo Josipovic on Friday received delegations of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) and the Serbian Football Federation (FSS) ahead of the 2014 World Cup Croatia-Serbia qualifying fixture, which will be held at Zagreb's Maksimir stadium later on Friday.
At the reception, Josipovic expressed his hope that fans' behaviour would be fair.
"There is no place for violence and impudence on the pitch," the Croatian head of state said, adding that he is hopeful that the atmosphere during the match will be sporting.
The heads of both federations thanked the Croatian president for the reception and underlined the importance of the forthcoming match both for the HNS and the FSS.
The Serbian delegation expressed gratitude for a friendly and warm welcome in the Croatian capital.
In response to reporters' questions, Josipovic confirmed that he would watch the match at Maksimir Stadium in the company of former Serbian President Boris Tadic who will stop in Zagreb on his way to Slovenia.
Josipovic reiterated his appeal to fans to be fair in supporting their national teams and to players to do their best on the field.
The two national federations earlier agreed that there would be no organised large-scale transport of respective fans of the visiting national teams during the teams' matches this year. The two federations decided to follow the guidelines of international umbrella football associations UEFA and FIFA, which have described Croatia-Serbia qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as high-risk matches. The first fixture is scheduled for today in Zagreb and the return game is due on 6 September in Belgrade.
